Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Symplegades

(Encyclopedia)Symplegades sĭmplĕgˈədēz [key], in Greek mythology, two floating cliffs that swung together and crushed anything going between them until Jason's ship, the Argo, passed safely through them. They ...

sharecropping

(Encyclopedia)sharecropping, an agricultural system in which a landowner allows a tenant to use their land in return for a share of the crop produced. In the United S...

color

(Encyclopedia)color, effect produced on the eye and its associated nerves by light waves of different wavelength or frequency. Light transmitted from an object to the eye stimulates the different color cones of the...

rock music

(Encyclopedia)rock music, type of music originating in the United States in the mid-1950s and increasingly popular throughout much of the world. A turning point in rock music occurred in the mid-1970s in the ...

Hampshire swine

(Encyclopedia)Hampshire swine, breed of swine that originated in S England and was introduced to the United States in the early 1800s. Major improvement of the breed took place in the state of Kentucky. Hampshire s...

Gagra

(Encyclopedia)Gagra gäˈgrē [key], city, Abkhazia, W Georgia, on the Black Sea and at the foot of the Gre...

Hoyerswerda

(Encyclopedia)Hoyerswerda hoiˌərsvĕrˈdä [key], city, Saxony, SE Germany, on the Black Elster River; chartered ...

houri

(Encyclopedia)houri ho͞oˈrē, houˈ– [key] [Arab.,=black-eyed], one of the beautiful maidens said by some Muslims to dwell in paradise for the enjoyment of the faithful. The passages in the Qur'an detailing the...

Exekias

(Encyclopedia)Exekias ĕksĕkˈēəs [key], c.555–530 b.c., Greek potter and painter. He worked mainly in the black-figure style. Eleven vases and a series of fifteen plaques have been attributed to him, includin...

Poland China swine

(Encyclopedia)Poland China swine, oldest breed of swine to have originated in the United States and one of the most popular. A number of strains have contributed to the development of this breed, notably the Irish ...